ORANGEBURG, S.C. — A traveling exhibition of activist posters from the College of Charleston's Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture is being displayed at South Carolina State University's Fine Arts Building Gallery.
"Having this poster exhibition encourages our students to understand the history of everything in this show, but also shows there are still things that are impacting our community in Orangeburg," explained Ian Welch, SC State's University Curator of the Fine Arts Building Gallery.
The collection of 'Dialectic Translations' are reproductions from activist and social justice advocate James Campbell. Before Campbell's death in January 2021, he donated his entire collection to the Avery Research Center. SC State's Fab Gallery Curator says the work is supposed to reflect how artists and activists have responded to previous political situations and how people choose to react to current ones.
"A lot of these works are Anti-Apartheid posters from the Apartheid movements in South Africa," explained Welch. "These were created in response to those."
The exhibition is available from now until November 5th for Orangeburg residents and students to enjoy. Welch hopes Campbell's works inspire them to stand for what they believe in since Orangeburg has a rich history of social activism.
"Once you graduate, your sense of activism in your community and the larger world shouldn't stop," said Welch.